The present invention relates to a video cassette adapter, and more particularly to an adapter which is used to contain a VHS-C type video cassette and placed into a VHS type video cassette recorder for displaying or recording operation. The present video cassette adapter is operated by a motor to pull the tape of the video cassette out of the cassette in an operative position and return the tape into the cassette in a non operative position.
A VHS type video cassette is a most widely used video recording medium nowadays. The VHS type video cassette has a large dimension of 188 mm.times.104 mm.times.25 mm and is unsuitable to be carried outdoors for shooting views or articles. Therefore, a smaller VHS-C type compact video cassette is developed to minimize the dimension of the video cassette. Such VHS-C type video cassette has a dimension of 92 mm.times.59 mm.times.22 mm can be easily carried and used. The width of the tape of the VHS-C type video cassette is identical to that of the tape of the VHS type video tape. Therefore, the VHS-C type video cassette can be first placed into a video cassette adpater and converted into a pattern of the VHS type video cassette and then the adapter with the VHS-C type video cassette can be placed into a VHS recorder for displaying or recording operation.
Because the VHS-C type video cassette has a length of only 92 mm while the adapter has a length of 188 mm, before playing the cassette, the exposed tape of the VHS-C type video cassette at the opening thereof must be first elongated to have a length as that of the exposed tape of the VHS type video cassette so as to meet the operational requirement of the VHS recorder. Therefore, the adapter includes two rotatable tape-driving members for conducting and pulling the tape of the VHS-C type video cassette out of the cassette to the opening of the adapter for playing or recording operation. In a conventional video cassette adapter, the tape-conducting operation is performed manually and this is inconvenient to the user. Especially, in order to conduct the tape from the opening of the cassette to the opening of the adapter, the two tape-driving members must be rotated through a large angle by the user's hands. This is quite troublesome to the user.
Therefore, it is necessary to provide the adapter with a motor and battery to electrically drive the two tape-driving members to automatically pull out the tape and wind up the tape.